«Livingroom Events»: Online Events

Yeah, we're all a little "zoom fatigue." The past few months have been a busy time for online meetings. The lockdown has officially ended in Switzerland. The uncertainty has remained. It's not clear if and when we can get back together as we were used to until the end of 2019.

What has happened in the legal seminar industry?

The consequences of uncertainty

The uncertainty is hitting the event and seminar industry hard. Many events have had to be postponed or even cancelled in recent months. The legal sector is currently lacking many further training and networking opportunities. This is a big problem for us lawyers in particular. Events such as seminars/conferences are an important means to satisfy the need for information and networking.

The planning of seminars is anything but easy until well into 2021. Who can predict exactly which measures and conditions will apply in a few months?

Two different reactions could be observed at the events:

• Some are trying to sit out the pandemic and speculate that the crisis will soon be over. Alternative offers are not being created.
• In recent months, however, some organisers have attempted to compensate for the loss with digital events. This is a sensible approach. However, in many places something has been forgotten:

It depends on the implementation.

Conducted online seminars

Some of the online events carried out were mediocre or poorly produced copies of the events that had actually been physically planned. As a participant of such an event, one then sits in webinars or live streams in which poorly instructed speakers unwind their program in monotonous one-way communication. Often, the picture and sound quality is also lacking, which makes it even more difficult to concentrate on the content.

Usually this is not a pleasant experience for the participants. Due to the increase in online meetings mentioned at the beginning, we already spend a lot of time at the computer anyway. As a result, many customers spend their valuable time elsewhere. The motivation to take part in pixelated zoom webinars has fallen sharply in the market.

This has had an impact on prices and revenues. Many organizers have tried to solve the problems with online events by massively reducing the price or even offering free online sessions. Secretly, many people are probably hoping that the coronavirus will die down and the old system will return. A solution that may work in certain areas in the short term. But this cannot be a long-term strategy.

Because: Where established broadcasters sit back and wait, "digital" providers are pushing into the gap.

Suddenly, they have the opportunity to tap into target groups that were previously reserved for the market-leading events that take place regularly.

Do online events have to be so exhausting?

No! - We're convinced of it. Even before the outbreak of the corona pandemic, we were already thinking about digital events. Independent of social distancing measures: digital events will be needed in the future. And if it is implemented correctly, it can also be a pleasurable and enjoyable experience.

We organize online legal events, which people like to attend.

Digital events are no substitute for face-to-face events. But they are a useful and necessary addition. Now is the time to develop such formats. A return to the old system will not be worthwhile.

Online events have many advantages:

1. Flexibility: The format can be adapted more flexibly to the content to be conveyed and the different customer needs.
2. Customer contact: Content brokers reach the target groups directly and also outside of face-to-face events.
3. Customer understanding: The technology allows event organizers to learn more about the interests of their customers and how to communicate with them more effectively.
4. Convenience: The expense of travel to and from the airport is eliminated. The effort and costs are effectively limited to the provision of information.
5. Scalability: For a physical event, there are certain limits on the number of participants. The more participants, the larger the room must be, the higher the costs. In digital space this scales much better for organisers. In principle, much more people can be reached with the content.
6. Digital events also take place during a pandemic.

If organisers throw in these advantages, the digital seminars are justified in the market. They generate real added value for customers. And they are quite willing to pay something for it.

How do I organize successful online legal events?

It takes two things:

1. Conception of the event

At HeadStarterz we use the advantages of digital space mentioned above and create a format of information transfer that meets your needs as organizers. Convince your target groups with an online event that attractively conveys the promised content. We help you to prepare, communicate and sell the offer.

2. Technical implementation

Many problems of legal online events are caused by technical deficiencies. From the customer's point of view, this begins with the registration for the seminar or webinar, which must be as simple as possible. The same applies to the payment process or the receipt of any accompanying documents. And of course the production of the content (video+sound) should be of such high quality that the participants can effectively concentrate on the content. This prevents participants from hanging around and devoting themselves to their e-mails.

The clean technical implementation is also essential for the organizers. The handling and implementation requires a seamless integration into the processes of the organizer. This applies in particular to the following areas:

• Accounting: The payment or invoicing process must correspond with the internal accounting.
• Marketing and communication: As an organizer you want to learn about your target groups and understand their behaviour. You also want to communicate with the participants after the event. This requires appropriate interfaces.
• Speakers: In the digital space, too, there is a need for people to convey the content. These are not always easy to find. They also have some respect for the technology. We help to break down barriers and provide a usable infrastructure.

The acquisition of the necessary equipment for high-quality production is expensive. With a simple laptop camera, you can do a lot today. But for larger or high-quality events it is sometimes insufficient. In addition, many other components are needed to ensure the right lighting conditions, clean sound quality and a stable live stream. This purchase is not worthwhile for many organizations. So it is good that there is now a platform where the equipment for the event is already available!

livingroom.events: An event platform by HeadStarterz and Lex Ferenda

At HeadStarterz, we apply our enthusiasm for strategy and communication very strongly in the field of digital, legal information dissemination. We pursue our own projects (e.g. taxlawblog.ch) and advise various organisations that distribute legal content. For the Institute for Swiss and International Tax Law (ISIS ), for example, we designed and implemented the publication platform zsis). Another partner is the association HAVE - publisher of a leading journal and organiser of conferences in the field of liability and insurance. The conception of legal content mediation is in the foreground at HeadStarterz. This has now given rise to "livingroom.events". A platform that we developed together with the company Lex Ferenda.

We develop offers that are tailored to your event. We are available for a non-binding initial consultation and will be happy to evaluate your needs.

The first event on livingroom.events will take place on 14 and 15 September 2020. It is a two-day seminar by ISIS on tax-optimised business succession.

We are looking forward to this kickoff and of course to many more events!

Are you interested in our services? Do you have any questions or would you like to get further information? Just get in touch with me: tobias@headstarterz.com. I look forward to hearing from you!

For more info, visit livingroom.events!